Dad's plea for change after son, 15, fell to his death

A dad is campaigning for a change in the law after his son’s death. Gabriel Santer from Garston, who was also known as Gabe, was a keen skateboarder and would often find places to skate with his friends.

Gabe was 15-years-old when his parents let him go out with some friends in Liverpool city centre on October 3 2020. However, when Gabe did not return home that evening, his parents began to worry.

Speaking previously to the ECHO, his dad Johnny said: “Gabriel had a curfew of 9pm. Just before that time, his mum had messaged him to ask what he wanted for tea and he messaged back that he wanted ribs and chips.

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“Then he missed his curfew and his mum started to get really worried really quickly. She had this sixth sense that something really bad had happened.”

Gabe was found dead after falling from the sixth floor of the Hanover Street Q Park in Liverpool city centre. An inquest would later reveal that at the time of his death, the teenager had enough alcohol in his system to cause severe intoxication and disorientation. Coroner Andre Rebello recorded an open verdict and said he believed Gabriel did not intend to take his own life and what happened could have been an accident.

Johnny is certain in his mind that his son’s death was preventable and believes Q Park did not heed the warnings of earlier tragedies to make their car parks - like the one in Hanover Street - safer by increasing the height of the top floor perimeter fencing. While his initial focus has been on Q Park, he is pushing for change across the whole multi-story car park industry.

In a previous statement, a spokesperson for Q Park said the company was deeply sorry for the Santers’ loss but insisted its Hanover Street car park had “outperformed building regulations.” The company added that an independent panel had determined there had been no wrongdoing on the part of Q Park in Gabriel’s death.

Current laws state that the pedestrian edge restraints at multi-story car parks should be provided to a height of just 1.1m. He says he has repeatedly pointed out to Q Park that while 1.1m may be the legal minimum, he believes they should be doing more than the minimum to keep people safe.

Last year, the Multi-Storey Car Parks (Safety) Bill, known as Gabe’s Law, was introduced to Parliament by Maria Eagle MP. With a change of Government, the bill will now have to be reintroduced, which it’s hoped will be early next year.

The law, if approved, would see the minimum legal height of guarding for multi-story car parks increase from 1.1m to 2.7m and would also require 24-hour staffing at the facilities. In the meantime, Gabe’s dad, Johnny, has joined with skate shop Lost Art and the Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Art and Design.

The organisations will showcase some designs of new skateboards before selling them to the highest bidder. All funds raised will be distributed to mental health charities Mind and The Ben Raemers Foundation which supports those from the skateboarding community as well as anti-poverty charity The Trussell Trust.

In a statement, Johnny said: “The skate community has come together to help raise the profile of Gabe’s Law and to support my campaign for the development of an Olympic skatepark in the city. I’m grateful to Lost Art for donating the used skateboard decks, the artists and students for their innovative designs and look forward to seeing the artwork and highlighting some of the issues relevant to the skate community, who often feel marginalised.”

Mike O'Shaughnessy, from the graphic design and illustration programme at the School of Art and Design said: “This is a unique collaboration born from a personal friendship and a tragic event. By joining with skaters, the creative community is not only helping to keep Gabe’s spirit alive and hopefully help change the law but also highlighting the need for a new world-class skatepark in the city.”

The event takes place on Thursday December 12 at The Atrium Gallery, JLADA Building on Duckinfield Street and starts at 6.30pm. If you’d like to attend the exhibition and/or make a bid for the boards, you can email hello@gabeslaw.org For more information follow Gabe’s Law on X, Instagram or Facebook @Gabes_law or visit www.gabeslaw.org.